The City of Guelph and County of Wellington are offering $15,000 to any local business or innovator that can crack the code of diverting more construction renovation and demolition waste from local landfills.

The municipal agencies launched their latest Civic Innovation Challenge under the Circular Opportunity Innovation Launchpad (COIL) banner. The COIL initiative aims to create, prove and scale transformative solutions across the food and environment sectors in southern Ontario that will move Canada toward a more sustainable, circular economy.

In particular, COIL’s Zero Waste Economic Transformation Lab to deliver circular economy strategies that reduce or redirect waste.

This latest challenge invites local businesses and entrepreneurs to develop an innovative solution that facilitates the on-site separation and recycling of construction, renovation and demolition materials.

Entrants are being asked to propose new business models to support on-site source separation, alternative waste hauling methods or other innovative ideas to divert CRD materials for small industrial, commercial or institutional and residential construction, renovation and demolition projects.

The challenge winner will be awarded $15,000 to pilot their new system in collaboration with the Smart Cities Office and the City’s Solid Waste Resources department.

“We know there are lots of places around the world where they’ve made source separation and recycling the norm for construction waste, and we’re looking for innovative companies that want to lead that change in Guelph-Wellington and across southern Ontario,” says COIL manager David Messer. “Since we’ve started mapping the local construction system, we know that source separation at the job site is an important to the diversion of valuable materials from landfill and will support the development of new circular economy businesses.”

CRD materials, such as concrete, drywall, cabinetry and lumber, make up approximately one third of the waste Canadians send to landfills every year. Properly separated, most of these materials can be reused or recycled.

Guelph’s Waste Resource Innovation Centre recycles CRD materials through dedicated programs for concrete/brick/rubble/porcelain, asphalt shingles, clean wood and gypsum drywall. Most are offered a lower tipping fee than if they were disposed at Guelph’s transfer station to be landfilled.

The difficulty is, local contractors continue to dispose of their construction waste in a single dumpster, meaning virtually none of these materials are reclaimed or recycled.

COIL says it welcomes a range of potential proposal ideas and approaches in support of the overall goal to reduce CRD materials being sent to landfill.

“When we were updating the City’s Solid Waste Management Master Plan with circular economy recommendations, we had envisioned innovations that would support a future-ready Guelph by taking ambitious steps to care for the local environment,” said Heather Connell, Guelph’s Environmental Services manager, Business and Technical Services. “By focusing on reducing CRD materials within the landfill, we’re deepening our connection to the environment, extending the life of the landfill and tackling what is both a local and global challenge through innovation and action.”

The CRD waste challenge is being supported by Co-operators as part of its funding to support a circular economy.

As the founding corporate supporter of the Zero Waste Economic Transformation Lab, Co-operators has pledged a $350,000-investment to establish the lab and fund its first project to divert construction, renovation and demolition materials from landfill.

More information on the challenge is available on Guelph’s bids opportunity website. Submissions are due on October 5.